Chapter 10
Camera
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS CHAPTER:
- Getting to know the camera
- Using the Camera object
- Using the getPicture method
- Using Camera options and arguments
In Chapter 9, you learned how to use the Media API to play and record audio files. In this chapter, you learn how to use the device’s built-in camera.
GETTING TO KNOW THE CAMERA
In this section, you learn about the camera (and photo gallery) and how you can use it.
What Is the Camera?
Just about every smartphone these days comes with a camera. Unfortunately, that’s about all you can say. There are absolutely no standards that govern megapixels, optical zoom, the existence of a flash, shutter speed, and ISO. (For the non-photographers, ISO is used to define sensitivity to light — the higher the number, the more light is gathered. Therefore, it reduces the amount of flash, for example, that you might use in a low-light situation.) Some cameras support video capture, and some don’t. Those that do offer different support for HD capture. Still others support removable memory cards.
Following are some examples of the wide array of included camera features on various devices:
- HTC Sensation 4G (Android) comes with an 8-megapixel camera and dual LED flash.
- Samsung Gravity (also Android) comes with a 3-megapixel camera and an LED flash.
- iPhone 4 comes with a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and front-facing VGA camera for video conferencing and self-portraits.
- iPhone 3GS comes with a 3-pixel camera and no flash.
- Palm ...
